Stock reel



1966 c. 1.. BRINKMAN 3,228,624

STOCK REEL Filed Oct. 8, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR 1:7, Z CHARLES BRINKMAN ATTORNEY Jan. 11, 1966 c. BRINKMAN STOCK REEL 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 8, 1962 INVENTOR CHARLES L. BR|NKMAN BY2i-. w: BQ

ATTORNEY Jan. 11, 1966 c. 1.. BRINKMAN 3,228,624

STOCK REEL Filed Oct. 8, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR CHARLES L. BRINKMAN ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,228,624 S'IOQK REEL Charles L. Brinkman, 3118 Atherton Road, Dayton, Uhio Filed Oct. 8, 1962, Ser. No. 228,866 1 Claim. (Cl. 24275.43)

The present invention relates to a novel stock reel device.

Generally, there is provided a space saving stock reel device which includes a horizontally disposed shaft adapted to support on one end thereof one or more reels of relatively stiff strip or other material. A V-pulley is fixed to the other end of the shaft to serve as a brake drum which is engageable with automatically varying pressure by a V-belt serving as a brake shoe.

The desired strip material is looped and guided over an auxiliary drum supported on a rocker arm to which the V-belt is adjustably coupled. The rocker arm is finely adjustable by a pair of springs to effect Vernier adjustment of the braking effect automatically controlled by the pull of the strip material against the auxiliary drum.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a space saving stock reel device of simple and compact construction having an automatic constant-tension brake.

It is another object of the invention to provide a device of the character set forth employing a V-pulley as a brake drum and a V-belt as a brake shoe.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a reel brake having an auxiliary drum over which strip material is guided to prevent kinking of the material, to greatly reduce the space requirements of the assemblage, and to serve as the tension-responsive feeler of the apparatus.

It is another object of the invention to provide a stock reel device which includes a reel brake of the character set forth having an adjustable connection between a V- belt and an auxiliary drum for gross adjustments to belts of different sizes and to materials of various weights, and having spring means for finely adjusting the braking action by adjustable pressure on a rocker arm supporting the auxiliary drum.

Other and further objects of the invention will become apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the device of FIGURE 1 in vertical section taken on line 2-2 of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of the assemblage of FIGURE 2 from the far side thereof;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of the showing of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the Vernier adjustment structure of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a modified (plural reel) form of the invention; and

FIGURE 7 is a plan view of the species of FIGURE 6.

With reference to FIGURES 1 to 5 inclusive of the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates the reel support and brake assemblage while the numeral 11 designates the relatively stiff strip material held thereby and supplied under constant tension to a machine, not shown, positioned immediately to the left of the assemblage of FIGURE 1. The assemblage 10 comprises a frame formed of two parallel inverted base channel bars 12 and 13 to which are welded a pair of inclined channel bars 14 and 15 welded at their lower ends to bars 12 and 13 and at their upper ends to a tubular member 16.

Tubular member 16 has fixed therein a horizontal-axis ball or roller bearing 17 in which is journaled a reel-supporting shaft 17'. A reel generally designated 18 is removably fastened to shaft 17 and comprises a hub member 19 having four radially extending bosses 20 axially bored to form sockets for four rod spokes 21 spaced 90 apart. Each spoke 21 carries a sleeve 22 adjustable therealong and provided with a laterally extending boss 23. Each boss 23 is bored and threaded to receive the threaded short leg of an L-shaped arm 24 which (together with the outer extremity of the spoke 21 to which it is attached by its supporting sleeve 22) form bifurcated holders generally designated 25 for the spirally wound coil 26 of strip material 11.

Strip 11 passes from coil 26 under and over an auxiliary drum or idler wheel 27 mounted by a ball or roller bearing 27 on a horizontally disposed shaft 28. Shaft 28 is one leg of an L-shaped bent rod, the other leg 29 of which is welded or otherwise fixed to a channel bar 3i Rod 29 and bar 30 constitute a rocker arm pivotally connected to frame bar 15 by a pivot pin 31 passing through aligned apertures in the apices of a pair triangular plates 32 welded to the sides of bar 15.

The constant-tension automatic brake mechanism is very simply and economically provided by a V-pulley 33 serving as a brake drum and by a V-belt 34 serving as a brake shoe. Pulley 33 is keyed or otherwise non-rotatably fixed to shaft 17. Belt 34 is clamped by a nut and bolt collectively designated 35 between the end of a metal strip 36 and its reversely bent end 37. The other end of the metal strip 36 has a series of apertures 38 therein for gross adjustment of the assemblage to belts of different sizes and to strip material of different characteristics. Said adjustment is conveniently effected by a screw 39 passing through a selected one of said apertures 38 and received in a tapped bore in the upper end of rocker arm bar 30.

Fine adjustment of the brake is provided by a springloaded device generally designated 40 (FIGURES 15 inclusive) and adjustably acting between rocker arm bar 30 and frame bar 15 (FIGURE 5). Device 40 comprises a section of channel bar 41 welded to the lower end of bar 30 and overlying the upper surface of frame bar 15. Each end of the bight portion of part 41 is apertured at 41 to receive loosely therethrough a headed screw 43 adjustably engaged in a tapped bore in frame bar 15. A coiled spring 44 is compressed between the head of each screw 53 and a washer 45 bridging each aperture 41. Thus, by loosening one screw 43 and tightening the other one, more or less spring force can be added to or subtracted from the gravity force produced by the weight of the auxiliary drum on its tilted rocker arm 29 30 for varying the tension on the loop of strip material 11 passing over said drum, the tension adjustably selected being maintained constant by the automatic braking action described above.

The ends of base frame bars 12 and 13, FIGURES l-4, are desirably provided with leveling screws 46 to compensate for any irregularities in the floor surface supporting the apparatus.

The disclosure of FIGURES 6 and 7 differs from that of FIGURES l to 5 only in the use of a plurality of reels of substantially identical size and construction and carrying the same quantities of strip material of the same characteristics. Since the parts of FIGURES 6 and 7 are the same as in FIGURES l-5, the same reference characters are applied thereto.

While but two forms of the invention have been shown and described herein, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that many minor modifications and/or equivalents may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A device of the character described comprising a frame structure, a horizontally disposed shaft rotatably supported by said frame structure and adapted to carry at least one reel of coiled strip material fixed to said shaft, a vertically disposed rocker arm pivoted to said frame structure, an idler wheel rotatably supported by the free end of said rocker arm for rotation about an axis substantially parallel to and vertically and longitudinally spaced from the axis of the reel shaft, whereby said coiled material can be space-savingly looped around both said idler wheel and said reel, a brake drum fixed to said reel shaft, a brake shoe peripherally engaging said brake drum, grossly adjustable means connecting said brake shoe to said rocker arm for automatically varying the braking action in response to slight variations in the pull exerted by said coiled material against said idler wheel and rocker arm to maintain substantially constant tension in the coiled material payed out from said reel and over said idler Wheel, and adjustable resilient means for varying the tensioning basis of said rocker arm as desired, said lastmentioned means comprising a bar affixed to the lower portion of said rocker arm and overlying a portion of said frame, said bar extending from opposing sides of said arm and being apertured adjacent each of its extremities, a headed bolt extending through each aperture and threadably engaged with said frame, and a coil spring encompassing each bolt and bearing against the respective head and adjacent bar portion, and said connecting means being a metal strap having longitudinally spaced perforations, and a screw selectively positioned in said perforations and threadably connected to said arm.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 259,789 4 6/1882 Anthony 242-75.43 1,645,939 10/1927 Smith 24275.43 2,082,633 6/1937 Johnstone 242--75.43

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

DONALD W. PARKER, Examiner. 

